brooks



(No Model.)

B. J. BROOKS.

SEAL.

No. 573,758. Patented Dec. 22, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDlVARD J. BROOKS, OF EAST ORANGE, NEYV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE E. .T. BROOKS & COMPANY, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 573,758, dated December 22, 18-96.

Application filed October 28, 1896. Serial No. 610,295. (No model.)

To all 1071/0712 it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD J. BROOKS, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of East Orange, in the State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oording-Seals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for sealin g commercial packing-cases, baggage, &c., in which twine or cord constitutes the shackle of the seal; and the objects of the present improvement are to facilitate securely fastening the seal by the blow of a hammer or the like, and at the same time to prevent openin g the fastened seal without such mutilation or defacement thereof as will insure detection, and, furthermore, to facilitate the man ufacture of the sheet-metal seal-disk by automatic machinery.

The invention consists in a compressible seal-disk composed of front and back parts,

both of which may be of any preferred sheet metal, and an inner prong-carrying lockingplate of thin sheet-iron or the like, which interlocks with the cord when the seal is fastened.

The invention further consists in the novel combination of parts formed by the improved cording seal, as hereinafter described and claimed.

A'sheet of drawings accompanies this specification as part thereof.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents an elevation and a cross-section of the back plate of the seal; Fig. 2, like views of the lockingplate; Fig. 8, like views of the front plate or outer cup; Fig. 4, aface View of the improved seal; Figs. 5 and 6, cross-sections on the line 5 6, Fig. 4, showing the seal-disk respectively before and after it is flattened; Fig. 7 an elevation of a modified back plate; Figs. 8 and 9, elevations of modified locking-plates, and Fig. 10 a cross-section of a modified seal-disk unpressed.

Like letters and numbers refer to like parts in all the figures.

The compressible seal-disk in either of its forms is composed of a back plate A, preferably and conveniently stamped from scraptin, an inner locking-plate 13, formed in like manner from thin sheet-iron, such as is used for metallic button-shells, and a front part or outer cup 0, formed-in like manner from any suitable sheet metal. The parts may appear before they are united as in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, respectively, said back plate A having perforations l and 2, between which tunnels 3 are raised by the stamping-dies to complete the cord-passages, preferably one for each end, said locking-plate B being normally concavo-convex, with ragged eyelets 4, one or more, projecting within its concavity to provide it with sharp cord-locking prongs, and said outer cup (J having a marginal rim 5 to interlock with said back plate A and permanently unite the three parts with each other, its front being embossed in the stamping-dies with general lettering 6, a serial number '7, and the name or symbols of the place of sealing, or equivalent permanent marks, to distinguish genuine seals and to facilitate locating any tampering therewith.

The locking-plate B is dropped into the outer cup 0, followed by the back plate A, in the re ative positions in which the parts are shown in cross-section in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. In so assembling the parts the correct location of the back plate A and locking-plate B relatively to each other and to the outer cup C may be insured by means of gages in the machinery in customary manner. The rim 5 of the outer cup 0 is finally closed down upon the back plate A, as in Fig. 5, and the seal-disk is then ready for use, as in Fig. 4, with the ends 9 of a cord D run through the cord-passages formed by the perforations 1 and 2 and the tunnels 3 of the back plate A.

The seal is fastened by compressing the seal-disk so as to force the prongs of the ragged eyelets 4 into the cord D, and thus locking the cord ends 9 against withdrawal, as shown in cross-section in Fig. 6, and the sealdisk may be thus compressed by the blow of a hammer or the like or by a suitable sealpress.

The tunnels 3 of the back plate A may be crossed,a-s in Fig. 7, and in this case a single ICC main portion of the back plate A may-be raised, so, that the lockiligl-plate B and the front of the outer cup 0 may be flat, as in Fig. 10. The lettering, &c., 6 7 S on the outer cup 0 may be printed or otherwise formed, and other like modifications Will suggest themselves to those skilled in the-art.

Having thus described the said improvement, I claim as my invention and desire to patent under this specification- 1. A compressible seal-disk, for cordingseals, composed of a back plate forming cordpassages, an internal concavo-convex plate provided with cord-locking prongs projecting from its concave side toward said: passages, and an outer cup having a marginal rim which permanently interlocks the three parts with each other, allof suitable sheetimetal.

2. The combination, with the ends of a seal- EDVARD J. BROOKS.

\Vitnesses:

THOMAS TIERNEY, (Leo. J. WENK. 

